Cooking healthy, homemade meals while camping can sometimes be challenging because of the limited space for packing and the hassle of prep and cleaning without a full kitchen.

Enter one pot camping meals – the perfect way to put a homecooked meal (or dessert) on the picnic table without much time or effort and far fewer dishes!

Most of these recipes can be cooked on a propane stove, which, in my opinion, is the easiest way to cook while you’re camping, especially if you are car camping or low on space.

Many of the recipes require only a 2.5 quart pot (or larger) with a lid, but a few do work best in a dutch oven or cast iron pan. Either way, none of these recipes require a separate bowl or pan!

Make Ahead One Pot Meal Tips

None of these one-pot camping meals are full make-ahead meals, but I suggest prepping parts of these meals ahead of time to make them that much easier to cook when at your site. Here are a few of my make ahead prep tips:

• Pre-cook meats and freeze them. They’ll act as ice in your cooler as they defrost and save the hassle of packing and cooking raw meat while camping.
• Pre-chop vegetables. Dicing the exact amounts of vegetables needed for your one pot meals saves you time and clean up of extra prep items. I use pre-portioned bento containers to separate different veggies for a meal, but any container will work.
• Pack only the spices you need in little containers. A bead storage container is my favorite for storing spices (even better than a pill container)! I look at all the meals I’ve planned for my trip and fill it with the spices I’ll need.

One Pot Camping Dinners

These camping one-pot meals are perfect for an easy dinner that the whole family will eat (and enjoy).

Marry Me Chicken with Orzo

This is my all-time favorite one pot camping dinner. It’s made with chicken breasts, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and orzo in a homemade cream sauce. Although it feels too fancy for camping, it’s SO easy and SO good!

See the one pot Marry Me Chicken dinner recipe here.

Beef Stroganoff

An easy twist on a classic homemade meal that tastes like it took more time to make than it did! I use ground beef for ease and cost, but you can also use beef steak instead.

See the one pot beef stroganoff recipe here.

Chicken Pot Pie Gnocchi

This recipe feels like home in bowl! This one pot chicken pot pie eats like a stew and uses gnocchi instead of bread or biscuits. The homemade cream sauce is so good!

See the one pot chicken pot pie gnocchi recipe here.

Turkey Pasta Bake

Pasta with a protein and fresh vegetables that cooks up entirely in one pot! I used ground turkey in this recipe, but ground beef or even cooked chicken breast would also be delicious.

See the one pot ground turkey pasta recipe here.

Zucchini Pesto Tortellini

This camp stove meal takes help from refrigerated tortellini and pre-cooked chicken sausage. It’s a complete meal with the fresh flavors of summer.

See the one pot zucchini pesto tortellini recipe here.

Dutch Oven Lasagna

Yes, you can make a full, homemade lasagna while camping! You’ll prep the filling layers at home and when it’s time to cook, simply layer then into a dutch oven and place over hot coals.

See the dutch oven lasagna recipe here.

Cheeseburger Macaroni

This camping mac and cheese doesn’t even require you to drain the pasta liquid! Everything cooks up in a dutch oven.

See the one pot dutch oven mac and cheese with ground beef recipe here.

Campfire Nachos

Although I usually make these campfire nachos in a cast-iron skillet, you can also make dutch oven nachos. Vary up the base ingredients and toppings to create the perfect camping meal.

See the campfire nachos in a skillet recipe here.

Chili Mac

This recipe blends the best of both worlds: smokey, spicy chili with creamy mac and cheese. It’s the perfect one pot dinner for a chilly night!

See the one pot Chili Mac recipe from Fresh Off the Grid here.

Camper’s Hamburger Helper

Ditch the premade box meals and make a homemade version of “Hamburger Helper” on your next camping trip.

See the one pot Hamburger Helper recipe from Amanda Outside here.

Thai Chicken and Rice

Cook up a tasty Thai dinner with peanut butter sauce on your next trip. Using pre-cooked rice packets makes this an easy camping dinner.

See the one pot Thai chicken and rice recipe from 5 Boys Baker here.

One Pot Camping Breakfasts

Although I do consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day, I listed it after the one pot dinners, because I find that I’m much more likely to make a one pot camping meal for dinner as opposed to breakfast.

However, there are plenty of great reasons to whip up a full breakfast in one skillet or pot. You can feed all the hungry mouths at once!

Camping Frittata

Feed your entire camping crew a delicious egg and veggie breakfast cooked in only one pan.

See the cast iron skillet frittata recipe here.

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

Hands down – this is my kids FAVORITE camping breakfast, probably because it feels like dessert. Filled with fresh blueberries and cream cheese – this is not your average french toast casserole.

See the blueberry french toast casserole recipe here.

Spanish Eggs

Bring out the flavors of Spain with this classic dish that can be made in one pan right on a propane stove. Serve with tortilla chips for added crunch.

See the Spanish eggs with chorizo recipe here.

Hungry Man Breakfast Skillet

Everything you need to feed your entire camping crew is packed in this camping breakfast with potatoes, peppers and eggs.

See the mountain man breakfast from Camping for Foodies here.

Campfire Skillet Breakfast

A hearty breakfast filled with ham, potatoes, peppers and eggs that cooks up right over the campfire.

See the campfire skillet breakfast recipe from Real Life with Dad here.

Huevos Enfrijolados

This one pan skillet dish is a delicious way to make breakfast for four on a propane stove or over the campfire.

See the eggs in spicy beans recipe from Well Seasoned Studio here.

One PoT Camping Desserts

The only one pot camping desserts I make are in a dutch oven over pieces of charcoal rather than on a propane camp stove. The cast iron of a dutch oven retains and evenly distributes heat which creates the effect of an oven – perfect for baked desserts!

Many of these recipes are dump cakes which require no mixing. Just dump the ingredients in your dutch oven without even dirtying a bowl!

These dutch oven desserts are perfect for family camping and scout camping trips because one cake feeds at least eight people! I have a post full of my other favorite ways to cook camping desserts, including on a stick, in a pie iron, and in aluminum foil.

Baked Apples in a Dutch Oven

Although this dessert has the flavors of Fall, we still make it year round as a healthy, homemade one pot dessert.

See how to make stuffed apples in a dutch oven here.

Blueberry Peach Dump Cake

Use a bag of frozen blueberries and peaches to make this dump cake easy to pack and make.

See the blueberry peach dump cake recipe here.

Peanut Butter Brownie Dump Cake

The secret to this dump cake is the layer of peanut butter cookies at the bottom.

See the peanut butter brownie dump cake recipe here.

Cherry Chocolate Dump Cake

This camping cake has the perfect blend of rich chocolate and tart cherries and takes less only a minute to assemble.

See the cherry chocolate dump cake recipe here.

Strawberry Cheesecake Dump Cake

Strawberries, cream cheese and boxed cake mix make this an easy summer camping dessert.

See the strawberry cheesecake dump cake recipe here.

Dutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I’m always impressed with myself when I flip over this beauty while camping! It’s as easy as layering in the bottom ingredients and then dumping in the other ingredients on top.

See the camping pineapple upside down cake recipe here.

Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls

Yes, you can have fresh baked cinnamon rolls while camping!

See how to use a dutch oven to cook prepared cinnamon rolls here.

Or, make homemade cinnamon rolls for camping with this recipe from Fresh Off the Grid.

I hope you found a recipe or two that you can bring on your next camping trip. Happy camping!

The post 25 of the Best One Pot Camping Meals to Make on Your Next Trip appeared first on Refresh Camping.

Because this meal can be cooked in one pan over a propane stove, you’ll spend very little time washing dishes, making it the perfect way to start the day while camping.

I experimented with making a new dish on my last camping trip – one of my favorite meals from the time I lived in Spain – and it was a keeper. To decide if meals make it on my future camping menus, they must meet the following criteria:

• Quick to make (ideally less than 30 minutes, start to finish, for breakfast)
• Minimal ingredients that are easy to pack and transport
• Can be made using the supplies in my camp kitchen
• Minimal prep (which means more dirty dishes)
• Delicious or at least something that everyone (husband and four kids) will eat

I studied abroad in Granada, which is in the southern, Andalusian region of Spain. In that area, this dish is called Huevos a la Flamenca, but I’ve also heard them called Huevos a la Espanola or simply Spanish Baked Eggs.

In southern Spain, this dish is not typically eaten for breakfast, and instead it commonly found as a tapas dish for lunch or dinner. However, I LOVE eggs for breakfast, so this meal is now part of our camping breakfast rotation (and one I also make at home)!

Ingredient Notes

• Chorizo: The recipe calls for 8 oz. of chorizo, which makes for a pretty meaty sauce. I prefer to use a little less (around 5-6 oz.) and let the
• Diced Vegetables: I dice the onions, peppers and garlic before my trip to make this recipe even easier while camping. Green peppers keep this dish mild for my kids, but feel free to substitute with spicier peppers for more heat.
• Diced Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes make for easy packing. I prefer to used crushed tomatoes so my kids can’t pick out any chunks of tomato. If you can, use the fire roasted variety for added flavor.
• Eggs
• Tortilla Chips: Tortilla chips make for the perfect scooper – you may not even need a fork!
• Queso Fresco: I like to top with queso fresco but using shredded Manchego cheese will give you authentic (and delicious) Spanish flavors.

I pulled together the best one pot camping meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert in one place. This Marry Me Chicken One Pot Meal is my personal favorite propane stove camping dinner.

Step by Step Directions

1. Sauté vegetables

Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a large pan on the propane stove. Add diced green peppers, onions and garlic and sauté until tender.

2. Cook the Chorizo

Add 6-8 ounces of chorizo to the pan and sauté until cooked through. Drain off excess fat and discard.

3. Simmer tomato sauce

Add the can of crushed tomatoes and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

4. Add eggs

Make 4 indentations in the tomato sauce and crack one egg into each indentation. Top each egg with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to low and place a lid over the pan. Cook the eggs for 3-7 minutes, depending on your liking.

4. Serve

Scoop a large portion of the tomato sauce with an egg out of the pan. Top with cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

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Spanish Eggs

A classic baked eggs dish that can be made in one pan over a propane stove while you're camping.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword breakfast, eggs, one pot

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 206kcal

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 medium bell pepper diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 8 oz. Chorizo sausage
• 1 can (15 oz) crushed or diced tomatoes fire roasted
• 4 eggs
• tortilla chips and queso fresco for serving

Instructions

• Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a large pan on the propane stove. Add diced green peppers, onions and garlic and sauté until tender, approximately 4 minutes.
• Add chorizo to the pan and sauté until cooked through. Drain off excess fat and discard.
• Add the can of crushed tomatoes and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
• Make 4 indentations in the tomato sauce and crack one egg into each indentation. Top each egg with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to low and place a lid over the pan. Cook the eggs for 3-7 minutes, depending on how soft or hard cooked you like your eggs.
• Scoop out one egg with the sauce and serve with queso fresco and tortilla chips.

Nutrition

Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 204mg | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1456IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Spanish Eggs One Pan Camping Breakfast appeared first on Refresh Camping.

This Dutch oven French toast has quickly become one of my kids’ most requested camping breakfasts, probably because it’s almost like having dessert first thing in the morning.

This recipe can also be made in a casserole dish in the oven as well, so even if you’re not going camping anytime soon, you can still enjoy this delicious breakfast.

To make this recipe even easier while you’re camping, you can prepare everything at home and store the layers in two separate ziplock bags or containers. Then, all you need to do is layer the ingredients into your Dutch oven and set it on the coals to cook.

Methods to Cook French Toast CasserolE

How to cook French toast casserole in a Dutch oven

A Dutch oven is the best way to cook this casserole while camping, because it retains the heat and acts like an oven by adding pieces of charcoal to the top and bottom.

We often don’t have a campfire going in the morning, so using charcoal to bake it makes for a fairly easy cooking method. You can also place the Dutch oven on a grate over a campfire and add campfire coals to the top, but it can be hard to achieve as even of cooking as you’ll get with charcoal.

How to cook French toast casserole in the oven

If you’re making this recipe at home, simply layer the ingredients in a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

Ingredient Notes

• Sourdough: I recommend using sourdough in this recipe, but you can experiment with other types of bread. Just try to buy unsliced (or thick sliced) bread so you are able to cut the bread into one inch cubes.
• Half and Half: Half and half brings richness to the dish, but you can substitute for lower fat milk if you prefer.
• Blueberries: Fresh or frozen blueberries both work in the recipe. Fresh blueberries will break down more while frozen blueberries will retain their shape a little better.
• Cream Cheese: Whipped cream cheese is much easier to stir and mix in the powdered sugar, but you can also use a brick of cream cheese and soften with a hand mixer.

Looking for other camping breakfast ideas? Try out this campfire frittata or these make ahead egg muffin sandwiches.

How to make Dutch Oven French Toast

1. Prepare Dutch Oven

Line your dutch oven with parchment paper (or dutch oven parchment paper liners). The parchment paper makes clean up a breeze, but you can also use cooking spray or butter to coat the inside of the dutch oven.

Alternatively, if you’re making this in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray the casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. Make the French Toast

Cut bread into one inch cubes and set aside.

Beat eggs until combined and then whisk in the half and half, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Gently fold in bread cubes. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and upwards of 24 hours, or place in a ziplock back and refrigerate until ready to assemble casserole.

3. Make the Blueberry Cream Cheese

In a separate bowl, mix half and half and vanilla into whipped cream cheese. Mix powdered sugar into the cream cheese until combined. Gently fold in blueberries and set aside or place in a ziplock bag and refrigerate until ready to assemble the casserole.

4. Assemble the Casserole

Layer half of the bread cubes mixture into the bottom of the Dutch oven or casserole dish.

Spread all of blueberry cream cheese in an even layer over the top of the bread cubes.

Cover the cream cheese with the remaining bread cubes mixture.

5. Cook in a Dutch Oven

Place the dutch oven on top of 10 pieces of charcoal (evenly spaced apart or in a ring) with 20 pieces of charcoal on top of the dutch oven lid (again, evenly spaced apart or in a ring around the outside).

Charcoal numbers are based on a 12″ dutch oven. If you have a smaller dutch oven, lower the number of coals, but keep the 2:1 ratio of coals on top to coals on bottom the same.

Cook for approximately 30-45 minutes. Cooking times are approximate and will depend on air temperature and well as wind conditions.

5. Cook in the Oven

Place casserole in the preheated oven and cook for 45-55 minutes.

6. Enjoy!

Feel free to top with maple syrup, but in my opinion, you don’t even need it!

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Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

Course Breakfast

Keyword dutch oven, french toast

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 396kcal

Ingredients

French Toast

• 1 loaf sourdough, French or brioche bread (12-14 ounces)
• 8 large eggs
• 2 1/4 cups half and half
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Blueberry Cream Cheese

• 8 oz whipped cream cheese
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen

Instructions

• Line your dutch oven with parchment paper or spray the inside with cooking spray.

  If baking in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray the casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Cut bread into one inch cubes and set aside.
• Beat eggs until combined. Whisk in the half and half, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Gently fold in bread cubes. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and upwards of 24 hours, or place in a ziplock back and refrigerate until ready to assemble casserole at your campsite.
• In a separate bowl, mix half and half and vanilla into whipped cream cheese. Mix powdered sugar into the cream cheese until combined. Gently fold in blueberries and place in a ziplock bag and refrigerate until ready to assemble the casserole.
• Layer half of the bread cubes mixture into the bottom of the Dutch oven or casserole dish. Spread all of blueberry cream cheese in an even layer over the top of the bread cubes. Cover the cream cheese with the remaining bread cubes mixture.
• Place the dutch oven on top of 10 pieces of charcoal (evenly spaced apart or in a ring) with 20 pieces of charcoal on top of the dutch oven lid (again, evenly spaced apart or in a ring around the outside).
• Cook in the dutch oven for approximately 30-45 minutes. Cooking times are approximate and will depend on air temperature and well as wind conditions.

  Or, place casserole in the preheated oven and cook for 45-55 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 241mg | Sodium: 211mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 929IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 152mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Dutch Oven French Toast with Blueberries and Cream Cheese appeared first on Refresh Camping.

You can feed your entire camping crew a healthy dessert with stuffed baked apples made over campfire coals in a Dutch oven.

How to Cook Baked Apples on Campfire

Although this recipe describes how to make baked apples in a Dutch oven, you can also cook them individually in campfire embers. You can find the exact steps on cooking individual baked apples in this post.

Cook it in a Dutch Oven

The fastest and easiest way to cook campfire apples is to cook them all at once in a cast iron Dutch oven. Cover the bottom of the Dutch oven with a half an inch of water and set the apples in the bottom with the open side (stuffed end) facing up.

Place Dutch oven over hot pieces of charcoal (about 8-10 pieces) and then add double that number of coals on top of the lid (about 16-20 pieces).

There are more details provided on these steps in the recipe below.

Ingredients in Campfire Apples

• Apples: Granny Smith, Jonathan, Honeycrisp and Pink Lady are some of the best apple varieties for campfire baked apples. They have a crisp, firm texture which helps them to hold their shape and not turn into mush over the campfire. (Granny Smith and Jonathan are more tart apples while Honeycrisp and Pink Lady are sweeter.) If you use soft apples, they’ll quickly turn to mushy applesauce when heated up.
• Butter: The recipe calls for salted butter so there’s no need to add any additional salt. Feel free to substitute unsalted butter and a pinch of salt instead.
• Oats: Use old fashioned oats as opposed to quick cooking oats. If you use the latter, the inside will get mushy and lose its texture.
• Pecans: Pecans are my absolute favorite in this recipe, but almonds or walnuts can be used as well.
• Brown Sugar: In a pinch, you can substitute white sugar, but you’ll lose the slight bit of extra flavor from the molasses that’s in brown sugar.
• Cinnamon: Cinnamon is amazing in this recipe, but you can also add 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg for more flavor.

Looking for other sweet camping dessert ideas? I’ve pulled together my family’s favorite camping desserts that can be cooked in aluminum foil, in a pie iron, in a Dutch oven, and even on a stick!

How to make Baked APples Over the Campfire

1. Combine oat mixture

In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the butter and brown sugar. Add the rolled oats, pecans and cinnamon and stir to combine.

(Complete this step at home before your trip for even easier prep when you’re camping! Just store the filling in the cooler under you’re ready to stuff the apples.)

2. Core the apples

Use a knife to cut around the top part of the apple core, angling your knife slightly in towards the center. This will allow you to pop the top area of the core out.

Then, use a spoon to hollow out the rest of the core, being careful not to puncture the bottom of the apple.

3. Stuff apples and place in Dutch Oven

Fill dutch oven with a half an inch of water.

Use a spoon to pack the filling into the cored apples. Place the cored apples in the dutch oven.

4. Cook over charcoal

Place the covered Dutch oven over 10 pieces of hot charcoal. Add about 20 pieces of charcoal on top and cook for about 30 minutes. (This number of coals is for a 12″ Dutch oven. If yours is smaller, lower the number of coals but keep a 1:2 ratio of coals underneath to coal on the top. For example, 8 coals under the Dutch oven to 16 coals on top.)

The apples are ready when they are still in tact, but tender enough to slice with a fork. You know you’ve cooked them for too long if the apples turn to mush. However, even if this happens, it will still taste delicious, but it will be more of a applesauce crisp instead.

5. Enjoy!

As you can imagine, a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of these campfire baked apples is absolutely heavenly. However, if you’re like us and never bring ice cream with you while camping, a dollop of whipped cream is still very tasty!

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Campfire Apples in a Dutch Oven

Stuffed with a sweet and crunchy filling, these stuffed apples can be baked all at once in a Dutch Oven with pieces of charcoal or campfire coals.

Course Dessert

Keyword dessert

Servings 6

Calories 260kcal

Ingredients

• 6 small granny smith apples or other firm apple
• 1/4 cup butter salted
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

• Using a charcoal chimney, prepare about 30 pieces of charcoal until the charcoal is white on the edges and hot.
• Mash together the butter with the brown sugar. Add oats, pecans and cinnamon and stir to combine. (You can easily make this filling before your trip for super easy prep at your site!)
• Remove the inner core of each apple with a knife and/or spoon. Be sure to remove all the seeds and core, but do not puncture the bottom of the apple (we don't want that butter to melt out of the bottom!)
• Add about a half an inch of water to the bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven. Stuff the apples with the filling. Place each apple, filling side up, in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Cover with the lid.
• Place Dutch oven on top of 10 pieces of hot charcoal. Add about 20 pieces of charcoal to the top of the Dutch oven lid. Cook for approximately 30 minutes (cook times will vary) until the apples are tender but not falling apart or mushy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1apple | Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

These apples are the perfect camping dessert, especially if you are looking for something other than s’mores.

Let me know in the ratings if you try these out or if you have other variations in the filling.

The post Campfire Apples in a Dutch Oven appeared first on Refresh Camping.

One pot meals are the perfect dinner for family camping trips. They cook in less than 30 minutes and will feed your entire camping crew with only one pot to clean!

This one pot dinner combines all the fresh flavors of summer like pesto and zucchini, but flavors can be adjusted based on the chicken sausage and tortellini variations you choose.

Looking for more one pot camping meals? I pulled together over 25 of my favorite recipes!

How to Cook One Pot Tortellini Dinner

A propane stove works perfectly to cook up a one pot meal, you just want to be sure you have a large enough pot or pan to hold all of the ingredients. This recipe needs a 2.5 quart pot or larger. (I used a 2.5 quart pot and it had just enough space in it to make this one pot camping dinner.)

I also prefer to use a heavy bottomed pot to avoid scorching. A cast iron pan would also work on a propane stove (or over the campfire) because it retains and distributes the heat.

You can also use a cast iron dutch oven to cook this recipe over campfire coals. Follow the same directions, but it will take a little longer to sauté the vegetables and get the liquid up to a boil.

Pre-Camping Prep Ideas

You can dice the onions and zucchinis and mince the garlic (just cover it in a little olive oil) before your trip. Store it in the fridge and cooler until you’re ready to make dinner.

Ingredient Notes

• Tortellini: This recipe uses refrigerated tortellini because it cooks so quickly, which is important so the zucchini doesn’t overcook and turn to mush in the liquid. If you can’t find refrigerated tortellini, use frozen, which only takes about two more minutes to cook. I do not recommend using dried tortellini in this recipe.
• Chicken Sausage: Caprese flavored chicken sausages work well in this dish, but you can definitely use a different flavor. Since my kids don’t like the caprese ones, I use garlic and gouda flavor.
• Diced Vegetables: Dice the zucchini and onions and cut the tomatoes in half before your trip to save time while you’re camping.
• Chicken Broth: Chicken broth gives the dish a little extra flavor, but in a pinch you can use water.
• Pesto: Make your own homemade pesto or pack a premade jar.
• Mozzarella Pearls: If you don’t have pearls, you can always use shredded mozzarella instead.

Although my kids like this recipe, they LOVE One Pot Beef Stroganoff while we’re camping.

Step by Step Directions

1. Sauté vegetables

Heat olive oil in a 2.5 quart pot (or larger). Add zucchini, onion, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes until the zucchini has browned a bit. (Stir only once or twice to allow the zucchini to brown.) Add garlic and diced chicken sausage and cook for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

2. Cook the tortellini

Add chicken broth to the pot and bring it to a boil. Add tortellini, stir to combine and cover as much as the tortellini with broth as possible. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the pasta is tender. Remove from heat.

3. Add in finishing touches

Stir in pesto and lemon juice. Add cherry tomato halves and Mozzarella pearls and gently fold into the dish. Top with parmesan cheese to serve.

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Zucchini Pesto Tortellini One Pot Dinner

A camping one pot meal that's filled with the fresh flavors of summer like pesto and zucchini. It cooks up in one pot with no need to drain liquids or transfer ingredients.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword dinner, one pot

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 390kcal

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 small zucchini (or one medium/large) diced
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 3 chicken sausages
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 8 oz. refrigerated tortellini
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1 cup Mozzarella pearls (about 5 oz.)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

• In a 2.5 quart sauce pot (or larger), heat olive oil and add zucchini, onion, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook until the zucchini browns a bit, about 10 minutes. Try to avoid stirring the mixture more than once or twice, so the zucchini is able to brown.
• Add garlic and diced chicken sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add tortellini, stir to cover as much of the tortellini with the liquid as possible. Lower the heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook for about 4 minutes, until the pasta is tender.
• Remove from heat and stir in the pesto and juice from half of a lemon. Add the tomatoes and Mozzarella pearls and gently stir to combine.
• Serve by topping with parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 1226mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 850IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 236mg | Iron: 2mg

The post One Pot Pesto Zucchini Tortellini appeared first on Refresh Camping.

I love planning different camping desserts for our trips. Of course, it’s always most fun to cook dessert over the campfire, which is why we love pie irons in my family. Each person makes their own little pie and everyone is a happy camper.

Turtle cheesecake hobo pies have only five ingredients, so they are easy to plan, pack and make. But don’t let the simplicity fool you. These handheld desserts are so good!

Cast iron pie irons are an easy way to make desserts while camping because they act like mini ovens to cook everything through quickly. I’ve heard pie iron recipes called pudgy pies, hobo pies, mountain pies, or toasties. Regardless of what you call this type of campfire dessert – they’re good!

We don’t only make dessert pies in our pie irons, we also use them to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here are our favorite pie iron recipes for every meal!

Looking for more camping desserts cooked in different ways? Here’s a post of my all-time favorites!

Turtle Cheesecake HOBO Pie Ingredients

• Pie Crust: I love using refrigerated pie crust in this recipe, but you can also use slices of bread.
• Caramel: Dice caramels into 1/2 inch pieces so they melt inside the hobo pie.
• Chocolate Chips: I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can really use any kind of chocolate here.
• Cinnamon Pecans: I make a batch of cinnamon sugar pecans before my trip, but you can buy pre-made cinnamon pecans or just use regular pecans.

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Equipment Tips and Tricks

Cast Iron Pie Iron (Camp Cooker): Pie irons are made of aluminum or cast iron, but I highly recommend using cast iron as they withstand much higher temperatures for longer periods of time.

However, aluminum pie irons do not require seasoning and can be cleaned like all other dishes, so there are benefits to using them as well.

• Round cast iron camp cooker
• Square cast iron camp cooker
• Double cast iron camp cooker – allows you to make twice as many sandwiches with half the work prepping and cleaning!
• Aluminum pie iron camp cooker – although I don’t like the way they cook as much, they are easier to use because they don’t need to be seasoned and can be cleaned like all your other dishes.

Portable Over the Fire Cooking Grate: While cooking in hot coals or embers is ideal for cast iron pie irons, you can also cook over a fire by using a fire grill grate. It’s perfect for a wide variety of campfire pits and can easily be adapted to work at your site.

It’s also great if you just started your fire and want to get cooking right away! Simply place your pie irons on the grate and turn halfway through cooking.

Steps to Make Campfire Turtle Cheesecake Pies

1. Prep the pies

Unroll a refrigerated pie crust and cut into pieces to fit into the pie iron. You make need to push some pieces together to form squares if using circular pie crust. Spread butter on one side of each piece of pie dough. Place one piece of pie dough with the butter side down into one half of the pie iron.

2. Assemble the pies

Place some pieces of caramel on the pie crust. Add chocolate chips and pecans. Dollop small dots of cream cheese across the top (or spread an even layer on the inside of the piece of pie dough). Cover with the second piece of pie dough, butter side up, and then close up the pie iron.

3. Cook over campfire

There are two options when cooking with a pie iron: in the coals or over the flame. I find that cooking in the coals is faster, but sometimes can result in over cooking/burning more easily. Cooking on a grate over the fire is usually a few minutes slower, but you have a bit more control over the temperature.

• Hot coals: Place pie iron directly in the hot coals and embers from your fire. If your fire has been going for awhile, simply pull a pile of coals a bit to the side and place the camp cooker on those hot coals.
• Over the flame: Use a grill grate to create a flat cooking surface over the fire. Place the camp cooker on the grate and let it cook.

4. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try out these turtle cheesecake pudgy pies on your next camping trip!

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Turtle Cheesecake Hobo Pies

An easy pie iron dessert filled with caramel, chocolate, cinnamon pecans and cream cheese that's cooked over the campfire.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword pie iron

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Calories 565kcal

Ingredients

• 2 refrigerated pie crusts
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 4 tbsp whipped cream cheese
• 2 tbsp butter (optional)
• 12 pieces caramel halved or quartered
• 1/2 cup sugar coated cinnamon pecans

Instructions

• Spray both side of the inside of the pie iron with cooking spray.
• Unroll the pie crusts and cut each one into four pieces. (You may have some excess dough which you could use to form together to make a 5th pie.)
• Spread butter on one side of the pie crust dough (optional) and place the pie crust butter side down into the pie iron.
• Spread the cream cheese on the inside of the first piece of pie crust dough. Add chocolate chips, pieces of caramel and cinnamon pecans.
• Top with another piece of pie crust. Spread butter on top (optional).
• Close up pie iron and cook over the fire or hot coals for approximately 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Nutrition

Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 402mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 306IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 3mg

The post Turtle Cheesecake Campfire Pudgy Pies appeared first on Refresh Camping.

One pot meals are one of my favorite family camping dinners (in addition to pie iron dinners, which are also a family favorite). You can prep a lot of the ingredients at home, throw it all in one pot which cooks over a propane stove, and feed everyone at once by only dirtying one dish!

This one pot meal is made with ground beef, mushrooms and egg noodles and cooks in a homemade, creamy sauce.

Here are 25 other one pot camping meal recipes that will make cooking on your next trip easy and delicious.

How to Cook One Pot Beef Stroganoff

A propane stove works perfectly to cook up a one pot meal, you just want to be sure you have a large enough pot or pan to hold all of the ingredients. This recipe needs a 2.5 quart pot or larger. (I used a 2.5 quart pot and it had just enough space in it to make this one pot camping dinner.)

I also prefer to use a heavy bottomed pot to avoid scorching. A cast iron pan would also work on a propane stove (or over the campfire) because it retains and distributes the heat.

You can also use a cast iron dutch oven to cook this recipe over campfire coals. Follow the same directions, but it will take a little longer to sauté the vegetables and get the liquid up to a boil and thicken up.

Pre-Camping Prep Ideas

You can dice the onions, slice the mushrooms and mince the garlic (just cover it in a little olive oil) before your trip. Store it in the fridge and cooler until you’re ready to make dinner.

You can also cook the vegetables and cook the ground beef before your trip. Stop after step 2 (before adding the flour).

Just let it cool completely and then freeze the meat in a ziplock bag or container. Pack the frozen meat in your cooler and it should defrost within 24 hours of being in the cooler. When it’s time to cook, add two tablespoons of butter, add the beef/mushroom mixture and heat it up. Then, add the flour (step 3) and continue following the recipe from that point.

Ingredient Notes

• Ground Beef: Using ground beef makes this recipe super easy, but you can also use strips of beef as well.
• Diced Vegetables: I dice the onions and garlic and slice the mushrooms before my trip to make this recipe even easier while camping. I have a couple of “mushroom-hating” kids, but they all really liked this meal, mushrooms and all! You can also dice them up much smaller and they will hide in the meat.
• Beef Broth: Beef broth gives the cream sauce a rich flavor, but you can substitute vegetable broth or chicken broth.
• Half and Half: This helps to thicken the sauce, but you can also use milk (expect the sauce to be thinner) or heavy cream (yields a thicker sauce).
• Worcestershire Sauce: I often substitute this with soy sauce when I’m camping because I have the packets in my camping condiments box!

This Marry Me Chicken One Pot Meal is my personal favorite one pot camping meal and this One Pot Zucchini Pesto Tortellini has all the flavors of summer in one pot. You can also find all my other campfire dinner recipes here!

Step by Step Directions

1. Melt butter and sauté vegetables

Melt butter in a 2.5 quart sauce pot (or larger). Add diced onions and mushrooms to the butter, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 6-8 minutes until tender. Add garlic and cook for about a minute until fragrant.

2. Cook the ground beef

Add one pound of ground beef, break it up with a spoon, and cook until it’s cooked through and no longer pink.

3. Add flour and seasonings to make a roux

Sprinkle flour and dried thyme over the veggies, mix to coat, and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Make sauce and boil noodles

Add beef broth, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce to the pot and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat and bring the broth to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook for about 7 minutes, until they are almost tender, but still have a little bite.

4. Finish sauce and serve

Add half and half and stir to combine. Bring back to boil and cook for about a minute to thicken the sauce. Remove from heat (sauce will continue to thicken a bit) top with fresh chives, and serve.

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One Pot Beef Stroganoff

A delicious, homemade camping dinner that cooks up in one pot and kids (and adults) love!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword dinner, ground beef, one pot

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 451kcal

Ingredients

• 8 oz baby bella mushrooms thickly sliced
• 1/2 onion diced
• 4 Tbsp salted butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 8 oz. egg noodles
• 1/2 cup Half and Half
• 3 Tbsp chives, chopped optional, for topping

Instructions

• Melt butter in a 2.5 quart sauce pot (or larger). Add diced onions and mushrooms to the butter, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 6-8 minutes until tender. Add garlic and sauté for about a minute until fragrant.
• Add ground beef to the pot, break it up with a spoon, and cook until it's cooked through and no longer pink.
• Sprinkle flour and dried thyme over the veggies, mix to coat, and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add beef broth, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce to the pot and stir to combine. Bring the broth to a boil over medium heat. Add egg noodles and cook for about 7 minutes, until they are almost tender (al dente).
• Add half and half and stir to combine. Bring back to boil and cook for about a minute to thicken the sauce. Remove from heat (sauce will continue to thicken a bit) top with fresh chives, and serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 451kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 943mg | Potassium: 660mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 414IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 4mg

The post Beef Stroganoff One Pot Camping Dinner appeared first on Refresh Camping.

One pot meals are the perfect camping dinner because all the ingredients are added to the pot and cook together. This makes cooking and clean up so much easier, which is a huge plus when you’re camping.

This one pot meal is made with onions, celery, carrots, chicken breast, corn or peas, gnocchi and a creamy sauce. It truly is a complete meal in one! Best of all, it can feed my entire family of 6 (two adults and 4 kids).

Here are 25 other one pot camping meal recipes that will make cooking on your next trip easy and delicious.

How to Cook One Pot Chicken Pot Pie

A propane stove works perfectly to cook up a one pot meal, you just want to be sure you have a large enough pot or pan to hold all of the ingredients. This recipe needs a 2.5 quart pot or larger. (I used a 2.5 quart pot and it had just enough space in it to make this one pot camping dinner.)

I also prefer to use a heavy bottomed pot to avoid scorching. A cast iron pan would also work on a propane stove (or over the campfire) because it retains and distributes the heat.

You can also use a cast iron dutch oven to cook this recipe over campfire coals. Follow the same directions, but it will take a little longer to sauté the vegetables and get the liquid up to a boil and thicken up.

To make cooking your camping dinner even easier, pre-cook the chicken (or use shredded rotisserie chicken) before your trip.

Just let it cool completely and then freeze the meat in a ziplock bag or container. Pack the frozen meat in your cooler and then add it to your pot with a little bit of oil.

It’s also helpful to pre slice all the vegetables and pack them in a container in your cooler.

Ingredient Notes

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast: Shredded or diced chicken breast work well in this recipe because they heat up quickly in the creamy sauce.
• Diced Vegetables: Dicing the vegetables into smaller pieces helps them to cook more quickly to tender.
• Gnocchi: Potato gnocchi takes the place of the traditional crust in a chicken pot pie. You could always substitute with egg noodles or quick cooking pasta.
• Corn and/or Peas: I can not stand peas, so I just use corn in this recipe, but you could substitute with peas, or use 1/4 cup of each one.
• Half and Half: You can also use heavy cream for a thicker sauce or milk, but expect the sauce to be thinner.

This Marry Me Chicken One Pot Meal is my personal favorite one pot camping meal and my kids love this One Pot Hamburger Mac and Cheese. You can also find all my other campfire dinner recipes here!

Step by Step Directions

1. Melt butter and saute vegetables

Melt butter in a 2.5 quart sauce pot (or larger). Add diced onions, carrots, mushrooms and celery to the butter, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 6 minutes until tender. Add garlic and sauté for about a minute until fragrant.

2. Add flour and seasonings to make a roux

Sprinkle flour, poultry seasoning, and Italian seasoning over the veggies. Mix to cover the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Make chicken cream sauce

Add chicken broth and half and half to the pot and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 7 minutes.

4. Heat chicken, corn and gnocchi

Add shredded chicken, corn and gnocchi to the pot and boil until the gnocchi floats to the top, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, which will also thicken the sauce.

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One Pot Chicken Pot Pie Gnocchi

The perfect one pot camping dinner that feeds the entire family. It's filled with fresh veggies, a homemade sauce, chicken, and gnocchi to make a homemade camping meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken, dinner

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 391kcal

Ingredients

• 5 Tbsp. butter salted
• 1/2 cup onion chopped (1/2 of an onion)
• 1/2 cup carrots diced (1-2 carrots)
• 1/2 cup celery diced (about 2 stalks)
• 4 oz. mushrooms diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups shredded chicken
• 1/2 cup corn or peas canned or pre-cooked
• 16 oz. potato gnocchi

Instructions

• Melt butter in a large pot (2.5 quart or larger). Add diced onions, carrots, mushroom and celery and sauté for 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning and minced garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
• Sprinkle flour on top of the vegetables and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for approximately 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and milk and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.
• Add corn (or peas), shredded chicken and potato gnocchi to the pot and stir. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the gnocchi is tender and cooked through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 934mg | Potassium: 404mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2283IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 4mg

The post Chicken Pot Pie Gnocchi One Pot Camping Dinner appeared first on Refresh Camping.

When we go on a camping trip, my kids know that there will be a campfire dessert every night of our trip. This certainly isn’t the case when we’re at home, but there’s something special about a molten hot, sweet treat that’s been cooked over the campfire in the great outdoors.

I’ve collected my family’s favorite camping dessert recipes that can be cooked up in a variety of different ways, including with foil, cast iron (dutch oven or pie iron), or even right on a stick.

Best of all, these are all dessert recipes that I’ve personally made, while camping. You won’t find any recipes that have clearly been made inside, in an oven, that could be made outside while camping (which I see often in round up posts).

Instead, these delicious camping desserts are the real deal, cooked over the campfire while actually camping, and my kids love them all.

My two favorite camping desserts in this roundup are baked apples and strawberry cheesecake hobo pies, but each of my kids and husband will tell you different ones, because they are ALL that good!

I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Camping Desserts On A Stick

You can cook your dessert right over an open fire with these camping desserts that can be roasted on a stick.

S’mores

These aren’t your ordinary smores! Take this classic campfire dessert to the next level with over 15 fun smores combinations that can all be made with toasty roasted marshmallows.

See the 15 unique s’mores recipes here.

Cinnamon Rolls

Yes, you can cook cinnamon rolls on a stick, but be sure to follow a few little tricks to make sure they cook all the way through without burning. (Bonus: you’ll also find 3 other ways to cook cinnamon rolls while camping in the post.)

Find this campfire cinnamon roll hack here.

Roasted Marshmallow Strawberries

This is a super easy dessert for camping! Grab a jar of marshmallow fluff, dip a strawberry in it, and roast it over the campfire. We’ve also used this trick for roasting Oreos, Rice Krispie Treats and candy bars (just make sure the entire bar is covered with marshmallow or you’ll have a melty chocolate mess).

Campfire Eclairs

This campfire dessert on a stick might be more fun than smores! Simply roast the shell of your eclair and then fill it with an easy pudding mix. Kids LOVE making these.

See the campfire eclairs recipe here.

Grilled Peaches

I know this campfire dessert isn’t quite roasted on a stick, but it’s literally as easy as putting peaches (sliced in half) on a grill grate and cooking until warm and a little toasted. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top is perfection!

Foil Packet Camping Desserts

No fancy campfire cooking supplies needed for these camping dessert ideas! These cook up in heavy duty aluminum foil and can even be eaten right out of the foil packets.

Chocolate Cake in an Orange

All you need is an orange peel to cook up mini cakes while camping! This recipe has an easy homemade cake mix that mixes up in a jar while camping, or you can also use a boxed cake mix as well. Whipped cream is delicious on top!

Find the chocolate cake in an orange peel recipe here.

Baked Apples

This is my personal all-time favorite campfire dessert! Mix up a quick filling, stuff some cored apples, and you have the most delicious, homemade camping dessert.

Get the Campfire Baked Apples recipe here.

Monkey Bread

All you need to make this camping version of monkey bread is canned biscuit dough, cinnamon, sugar and butter. The bite size pieces cook up in a foil packet and are so good!

See the Foil Packet Monkey Bread recipe here.

Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

This camping foil packet dessert is one of the easiest to pack and cook, because it’s made with premade ingredients and only needs to be heated through. Dessert cup cakes, pound cake, or donuts all work well for the cake layer.

Find this easy tin foil packet camping dessert here.

Banana Boats

I love banana boats – they are pretty foolproof when cooking over the campfire because it’s really hard to burn them! Set up a charcuterie style topping board to let everyone create their own, or use one of my 12 favorite combinations in this post.

See tons of Campfire Banana Boat ideas here.

Campfire Cones

Campfire cones are another fun camping dessert to set up charcuterie style. I find that the cones burn fairly easily, so be sure to cook them elevated on a grill grate. All you need are mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and a variety of other fun toppings.

See my favorite campfire cone variations here.

Pie Iron Desserts

If you camp, I highly recommend adding a few pie irons to your camping cooking kit. They are my family’s favorite way to cook over the campfire. Here’s a full post on how to season and take care of your pie irons. (If you live by a Menards, they have them cheaper than anywhere else I’ve seen!)

This is my personal favorite group of campfire desserts – I hope you like them too!

Strawberry Cheesecake Hobo Pies

The combination of sweet and tangy in this pie iron dessert is perfection! I prefer using pie crust for the outside layer, but two slices of bread also works and it still tasty!

Get the Strawberry Cheesecake Hobo Pies recipe here.

Cinnamon Roll Apple Pies

Apple pies meet cinnamon rolls with this stuffed hobo pie recipe. The directions include how to make an easy homemade filling with fresh apples, but you can also grab a can of apple pie filling to make this super easy!

Find the Cinnamon Roll Apple Pies dessert recipe here.

Cherry Chocolate Pudgy Pies

The perfect blend of melted, rich chocolate with tart and sweet cherries cooked up in a handheld hobo pie.

Get the Cherry Chocolate Pie Iron recipe here.

Stuffed Waffles

This pie iron idea with simple ingredients can be both a camping breakfast and a camping dessert! Everyone in my family loves this one.

See the Stuffed Waffles Hobo Pies recipe here.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pack some premade cookie dough (either homemade or in a tube) and you can make freshly baked cookies while camping! Cookies bake the fastest in pie irons, but you can also use a cast iron skillet or dutch oven to make a giant cookie cake as well.

See the Campfire Cookies Pie Iron recipe here.

If you love cast iron pie irons as much as I do, check out my post with over 35 different camping meal ideas, all made in a pie iron!

Dutch Oven Desserts

Dutch oven desserts are a fabulous way to feed a “home-cooked” dessert to a family or crowd when you’re camping. Simply dump or layer the ingredients in (no need to mix any batter!), set it over some hot coals (with some coals on top), and let it cook. These are the types of recipes that you ask yourself, “Did I really just make a cake while I’m camping??”

Peach Blueberry Dump Cake

I think this is my favorite dump cake recipe of them all. It’s filled with fresh fruit (both peaches and blueberries) and topped with a moist vanilla cake.

Find the Peach Blueberry Dutch Oven Cake here.

Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake

This chocolate camping cake is rich, moist and so good, especially with a scoop of ice cream. If you like chocolate, you’ll love this recipe.

Get the Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake recipe here.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I’m always proud of myself when I make this dutch oven dump cake because it comes out so pretty! Once the fruit is layered in the bottom, the rest of the ingredients are dumped in, so it’s way easier than it looks.

Find the Pineapple Upside Down Dump Cake here.

Peanut Butter Brownie Dump Cake

Brownie batter bowls are a pain to clean while camping, but this recipe is truly a dump cake that requires no mixing. A scoop of vanilla ice is amazing on top of this one!

See the Peanut Butter Brownie Dutch Oven Cake here.

Strawberry Cheesecake Dump Cake

You can use fresh strawberries or strawberry pie filling in these easy dump cake dutch oven recipe.

Get the Strawberry Cheesecake Dutch Oven Cake here.

Have you made any of these desserts while camping? I’d love to hear your favorites so I can add them to our camping menu!

The post The Best Camping Desserts to Cook on Your Next Trip appeared first on Refresh Camping.

I made this camping dessert as a Girl Scout many years ago and recently introduced my own kids to this fun and easy camping dessert. They all loved it (except my oldest daughter who said, “That would be good if I liked pudding.”)

The best part of this dessert is that they roast over the campfire, so all the kids can find the best (thick) roasting stick and cook their own shells right over the fire. Plus, it’s really fun to fill them by squeezing the pudding out of a plastic bag.

Another easy campfire dessert that only needs a handful of ingredients and cooks in campfire coals is foil packet monkey bread – it’s so good!

Tricks to Cooking the Shell

There are a few important tricks to follow to make sure that the dough cooks all the way through.

1. Wrap the dough in one layer. Do not overlap the dough except right at the end where the edges meet. Seal the edges by pressing them together.
2. Leave a little extra dough (1/4″) hanging over the top of the stick. Wrap the extra dough over the top of the stick and press together. This creates a closed end to the eclair, making it much easier to fill later.
3. Roast over hot embers. The dough cooks the best when its roasted over the hot coals of the fire, rather than the flame.
4. Turn every 30 seconds. Rather than continuously rotating, I find it works best to hold the dough in place for 30 second to a minute, and then to rotate it a quarter turn once it starts to brown.
5. Final “baking”, if needed. After the shell is golden brown, you may need a little more time for the dough to fully cook. At this time, hold the stick higher above the fire for a minute or two. It shouldn’t continue to brown, but the heat will cook through any dough that’s still raw.

Have you ever tried cooking inside an orange peel when cooking over the campfire? It’s the perfect way to cook individual cakes, muffins or brownies in campfire foil packets. I use them to make campfire chocolate cake in oranges peels, and it’s also one of the best ways to make campfire cinnamon rolls.

Ingredients in Campfire Eclairs

• Refrigerated Crescent Rolls: One can of dough will make 5 eclair shells. You can also use a sheet of refrigerated pie crust for the shell.
• Vanilla Pudding: Or get creative and try out different flavors!
• Milk: This is used to make the pudding according the to directions on the box.
• Nutella: Hazelnut spread makes for an easy chocolate topping for the eclairs, but you can also use chocolate syrup as well.

Steps to Make CAMPFIRE eCLAIRS

1. Make the pudding

Follow the directions on the box to make the pudding by adding 2 cups of cold water to a box of vanilla pudding. Whisk for two minutes until it starts to set. Place it in the fridge for a few minutes and give it one last stir. Then, transfer the pudding to a plastic bag and refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Prepare the eclair shells

Unroll a can of crescent rolls and separate into four rectangles (push the seams of two triangles together to make the rectangles). Wrap around a thick stick that has been sprayed with cooking spray or wrapped in aluminum foil.

There will be extra dough after wrapping it around the stick. Cut the excess dough where it meets the other edge. Do not overlap the dough. Then, press the edges to seal the dough together. Seal the top of the dough over the top of the stick.

Save the excess dough – you’ll have enough to make a 5th eclair with the remnants from the other four shells.

3. Cook over the campfire

Hold the dough over hot campfire coals for about 30 seconds to one minute, until the dough starts to brown. Rotate the stick a quarter turn and continue cooking until the entire shell is golden brown.

If the dough is still a little raw inside, hold the stick higher above the campfire to continue baking the shell, without browning (or burning) the exterior.

4. Fill the eclair

Once the dough is cooked through, slide it off the end of the stick. Then, cut a small corner off the end of the pudding plastic bag and pipe it into the inside of the eclair.

5. Top with chocolate and enjoy!

Spread hazelnut spread on top, or squirt with chocolate syrup. You may need a plate to eat these and catch any oozing pudding – they can be messy!

Print

Campfire Eclairs

Roast dough over the campfire on a stick and then fill with pudding to make this fun and easy campfire dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword camping dessert

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Calories 317kcal

Ingredients

• 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls (or a sheet of pie crust)
• 1 box (3.4 oz.) vanilla pudding
• 2 cups milk
• 5 tbsp hazelnut spread

Instructions

• Follow the directions on the box to make the pudding by adding 2 cups of cold water to a box of vanilla pudding. Whisk for two minutes until it starts to set. Place it in the fridge for a few minutes and give it one last stir. Then, transfer the pudding to a plastic bag and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Unroll a can of crescent rolls and separate into four rectangles (push the seams of two triangles together to make the rectangles). Wrap around a thick stick that has been sprayed with cooking spray or wrapped in aluminum foil.
• There will be extra dough after wrapping it around the stick. Cut the excess dough where it meets the other edge. Do not overlap the dough. Then, press the edges to seal the dough together. Seal the top of the dough over the top of the stick.

  Save the excess dough – you'll have enough to make a 5th eclair with the remnants from the other four shells.
• Hold the dough over hot campfire coals for about 30 seconds to one minute, until the dough starts to brown. Rotate the stick a quarter turn and continue cooking until the entire shell is golden brown.

  If the dough is still a little raw inside, hold the stick higher above the campfire to continue baking the shell, without browning (or burning) the exterior.
• Once the dough is cooked through, slide it off the end of the stick. Then, cut a small corner off the end of the pudding plastic bag and pipe it into the inside of the eclair.
• Top with hazelnut spread or chocolate syrup and dig in.

Nutrition

Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 401mg | Potassium: 222mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 159IU | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Easy Campfire Dessert: Campfire Eclairs appeared first on Refresh Camping.